Still Running, and For a Good Cause

Following Hurricane Sandy’s unprecedented damage, Mayor Bloomberg chose to cancel the New York City Marathon set to occur on Sunday November 4th 2012 and to divert all resources gathered toward recovery efforts. Runners, while disappointed, came to the aid of hurricane victims, inspiring all.

Instagram image of the official race kit from @Bevansburg

With the resilience that New Yorkers always show in the face of disaster, runners (many of them registrants in the Marathon) dressed in bright orange race kits and banded together to help those in need.

One group, New York Runners in Support of Staten Island, led by sports medicine doctor and triathlete Dr. Jordan Metzl, gained 5,450+ fans via its Facebook page. On Sunday morning, when the race was set to take place, more than 1,200 runners met at the Staten Island Ferry terminal to head out and provide aid.

Another result of the cancelled marathon is the heightened enrollment for the Brooklyn Marathon on November 18th. Organizers have set up a wait-list to allow more participants to run in the now-sold-out event. Runners can find a list here of all alternative races (often discounted for those who were registered for the New York City Marathon). Other races around the country, including the Phoenix 10k (which took place on November 4), offered free enrollment for runners who showed NYC Marathon bibs upon registration.

Supporting all those who trained for the race — only to have it cancelled, were many Active industry businesses. Many gave discounts, free classes, or other services to runners showing an official Marathon bib.

The NYC Marathon site has a list of ways to donate or volunteer through the Race to Recover, found here.

The Active Team at Stylesight expresses our pride in our industry in the way runners banded together to make a difficult time into an opportunity to give. We all knew marathoners were tough, dedicated athletes, but this event showed us their compassion, spirit and resilience.